According to information obtained by the Uruguayan press, this meeting had been planned for months thanks to the efforts of the Uruguayan ambassador in Washington, Andrés Durán. Just missing find a space in Biden’s busy schedule to carry out the meeting.
Lacalle Pou was in the United States on a private tripsince tonight I would receive in NY the gold badge of the Americas Society. It was in this context that the White House extended the invitation to the Uruguayan president so that he could meet with Joe Biden.
According to the same sources, during the meeting the presidents addressed issues of global relevance and discussed areas where they could collaborate togetheralthough no further details were provided in this regard.
A long conversation between Lacalle Pou and Biden
The meeting lasted about one hour and 20 minutes, and was attended by the Uruguayan Foreign Minister, Francisco Bustillo, and the Ambassador to Washington, Andrés Augusto Durán Hareau, in addition to the leaders.
On behalf of the White House, Jonathan Finer, deputy adviser for National Security, and Juan González, Biden’s main adviser on matters related to Latin America, were present.
As the leader of one of the smallest and most prosperous countries in South America, the liberal Lacalle Pou has sought to maintain a balanced position in the dispute between The United States and China, its main trading partners for the export of basic products and software.
Being a trending president center right In a region that is leaning more and more towards the left (as in Chile, Colombia, Brazil and other cases), Lacalle Pou has expressed interest in reaching a Free Trade Agreement with the United States. In parallel, he criticizes the northern superpower for not understanding the strategic importance of Latin America.
During the Lacalle Pou government, trade negotiations began with China in 2021, which were suspended by Beijing due to opposition from China’s regional trading partners. Uruguay, like Argentina and Brazil.
Democratic Senator Bob Menéndez, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, along with his colleague Tim Kaine, also a Democrat, and Republican Senator Bill Hagerty, introduced a bill on Tuesday aimed at lowering tariffs on certain Uruguayan exports. and evaluate the eligibility of Uruguay to be included in the US visa waiver program.
